Device for Uninterrupted Winding of a Continuously-Fed Textile Material Web

ABSTRACT

A device ( 1 ) for uninterrupted winding of a continuously-fed textile material web ( 3 ) is provided, which includes four transport mechanisms ( 11, 21, 25, 27 ), which form a cage at a beginning of the winding process. The third and fourth transport mechanisms ( 25, 27 ) are moved radially away from the winding center as the diameter of the roll ( 17 ) increases, and the second transport mechanism ( 21 ) is removed.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a device for the uninterrupted winding of a continuously-fed textile material web according to the preamble of claim 1.

Textile material webs, such as fleece, batting, and the like are produced in a continuous production process. The conditioning and/or further processing usually occurs not at the location of production but at another location and additionally this process is discontinuous. For this purpose, the continuously exiting material webs must be wound for transportation or intermediate storage. The continuous feeding of the material web to the winding device results that at the end of the winding process the finished roll must be removed very quickly and immediately the winding of a new roll must be started.

It is known to introduce the leading edge of the material web into a cage formed by several rollers and to initiate a winding process this way. In this known process there is the latent risk that the leading edge of the material web fed is not deflected by the rollers in an arc as desired but accumulates in the wedge of two rollers and thus leads to an interruption of the production process. The interruption of the feeding at the end of the production process of the material web can have consequences for the entire production process and lead to discards.

SUMMARY

One object of the present invention is to provide a device, which securely grabs the leading edge of a continuously fed material web without interruption after the separation of the material web when the winding process of a roll has concluded, in order to guide an empty core and begin another winding process.

This object is attained by a device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

The four cooperating transport means allow a winding of the material web onto a roll having an essentially constant winding thickness over its diameter. In particular, the finished roll can be removed from the device without interrupting the material feeding and the leading edge of the constantly fed material can be immediately wound onto a new core.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail using an illustrated exemplary embodiment. Shown are:

FIG. 1 a schematic side view of the device at the beginning of the winding process,

FIG. 2 an enlarged view of the winding area taken along a line III-III in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 a plan view of the device according to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, only the elements necessary for understanding the device 1 for an uninterrupted winding of textile material webs 3 as well as the housing 5 of the production device and the cutting device 7 are shown.

At the front end of the production device 5, not shown or described in greater detail, supported by a transport element, e.g., an endless conveyer belt 9, the material web 3 enters and is fed into the cutting device 7, where the cutting device 7, extending perpendicularly to the material web 3, cuts the material web 3. By the slightly higher traveling speed of a first transport means 11 in reference to the traveling speed of the transport element 9 in the production device 5, it is possible to achieve, that after the cutting, the trailing edge 13 is separated from the leading edge 15 of the material web 3 exiting the production device 5 and a constantly increasing distance develops between these two edges 13, 15. Thanks to this distance, as described in the following, a completed roll 17 can be removed from the device 1 without interrupting the production, an empty core 19 can be fed, and winding can be started.

The material web 3 and/or its front edge, cut in the cutting device 7, is transported by the upper belt run 11′ of the first transport means 11 in the direction of the arrow T and frontally contacts the belt 21′ of a second transport means 21, which is located at an obtuse angle in reference to the upper belt run 11′, and is deflected upwards thereby. The leading edge 15 of the material web 3, now deflected upwards, then wraps with its leading edge around the core 19 held between two vertical guiding rails and then contacts the lower belt run 25′ of a third transport means 25. From here, the leading edge 15 in turn reaches the belt run 27′ of a fourth transport means 27 essentially head on and is deflected downwards thereby and is guided to the upper side of the approaching material web 3. At the end of an entire wrapping of the core 19 the winding of the material web 3 onto the core 19 begins by friction of the material web 3 to the first transport means 11 and the third transport means 25. Immediately after more than one layer of the material web 3 has been wound onto the core 19 the second transport means 21 is pulled downwards by a linear drive 29 (see the discontinuous line in FIG. 1). The third transport means 25 is supported in a vertically displaceable manner and is successively pushed upwards thereby corresponding to the increasing diameter of the roll 17. An adjustable pressure of the belt run 25′ of the third transport means 25 to the apex of the roll 17 causes the latter not to be wound loosely but compressed in a predetermined manner. With the increasing diameter of the roll 17 the fourth transport means 27 is laterally pivoted clockwise around a pivot axis A (cf. FIG. 2.) Using a suitable second linear drive 31 an adjustable pressure can be applied to the surface of the roll 17 by the belt run 27′ of the fourth transport means 27. With an increasing diameter of the roll 17 the rotary axis H of the core is pushed vertically upwards. It is always laterally guided by the guiding rails 23.

Shortly before the predetermined diameter D of the roll 17 has been reached, the material web 3 that is being fed is cut by the cutting device 7. As soon as the trailing edge 13 of the material web 3, leading to the roll 17, has reached the roll 17, the guiding rails 23 are pulled upwards so that the lateral guidance 19 is removed. Using the second linear drive 31 and/or the fourth transport means 27 linked thereto, the roll 17 can now be expelled from the device 1 in a direction of the arrow S. Simultaneously to the expulsion of the roll 17 a new core 19, which is held by two guiding rails 33, is advanced in the direction T, the second transport means 21 is pushed upwards into the original position, the third transport means 25 and the guidance rails 23 are guided downwards. The fourth transport means 27 is already arranged in an essentially vertical position so that the material web 3 and/or its leading edge 15, transported by the first transport means 11, as shown at the outset, is guided around the new core 19 and a new winding process can be started.

At least the two horizontally aligned first and third transport means 11, 25 of the four transport means 11, 21, 25, 27 provided are driven. Preferably, the two other transport means 21, 27 are also driven by motors, not shown, though.

The distances of the initially opposing belts of the transport means can be adjusted to the thickness of the respective material web 3 to be wound, in order to achieve an optimum winding density from the start.

For reasons of better visibility, the vertical guidance for the third transport means 25 as well as the elements allowing to adjust its pressure to the roll 17 are not shown. 

1. A device (1) for an uninterrupted winding of a continuously fed textile material web (3), comprising a first transport device (11) supporting a material web (3), that feeds to the device (1), and a cutting device (7) operating perpendicularly in reference to a traveling direction (T) of the web for cutting the material web (3), a second transport device (21) is arranged at an output of the first transport device and includes a belt (21′) extending at an essentially obtuse angle in reference to the traveling direction (T), a third transport device (25) is arranged in vertically shiftable position above the second transport device (21), and includes a belt (25′) located parallel to the traveling direction (T), and a fourth transport means (27) is mounted above the first transport means (11), a belt (27′) of the fourth transport device (27) is located adjacent to the third transport device (25), and is pivotal between a vertical position and a position tilted in reference to the vertical.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein endless transportation belts are used as the transport devices (11, 21, 25, 27) which each travel around at least two deflection rollers that are spaced apart from each other.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein a first guiding device (23), having a u-shaped cross-section, is arranged laterally outside each of the first (11) and the third transport device (21) for guiding a roll core (19) at end faces thereof.
 4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the first guiding rail (23) extends generally perpendicular to a surface of an upper belt run (11′) of the first transport device (11).
 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein outside of lateral edges of an upper belt run (11′) of the first transport device (11), unshaped second guiding rails (33) are arranged for feeding empty cores (19).
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the first guiding rails (23) at the end of the winding process are supported such that they can be moved upwards so that ends of the core (19) carrying the completed roll (17) are without lateral guidance and the roll (17) can be expelled from the device (1) by pivoting the fourth transport device (27). 